This invention relates to a jacket holder for holding a jacket to permit strips of film to be automatically inserted in the jacket.
A microfilm represents a duplication of an original produced by photography in a 16 mm or 35 mm film by reducing the size. It is well known that, by using a microfilm system, it is possible to arrange and store a massive amount of material in a very small space. When the microfilm is of the roll form type, difficulty is experienced in retrieving a film image unless the film is provided with some sort of index. However, retrieving of the desired film image can be facilitated if the film in roll form is cut into strips of film of predetermined length, e.g. about 10 to 30 cm, and such strips of film are stored in a jacket by providing the same with an index for each unit according to the content.
FIG. 1 shows one example of such a jacket. The jacket 1 comprises, in combination, a base B and a cover C which are either transparent or semi-transparent and joined either by bonding or melt fusion at essential portions. The jacket 1 includes an index column 2 and pockets 1-1, 1-2 . . . 1-i . . . 1-l, for strips of film which are disposed parallel to one another. Each pocket 1-i has on the cover side an inlet pi which is formed in the vicinity of one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the pocket. As is known, the base B and cover C may be made of Acetate (trade name) or Mylar (Trade name). Particularly, by using Mylar, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the jacket to about 0.1 mm. When a film strip is stored in the jacket 1, the verification of the film image can be effected by using a reader for the jacket without removing the film strip 3 from the jacket. In this case, the film strip 3 is protected by the jacket 1, so that the jacket offers the advantage of eliminating damage to the film strip when verification of the film image is effected.
The strip of film 3 may be inserted in the jacket 1 either manually or automatically by using an inserting device.
In one method known in the art of automatically inserting the film strip 3 in the jacket 1, a guide G is mounted at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the pocket 1-1 of the jacket 1, and the film strip 3 is supplied by a pair of delivery rollers R and moved through the guide G till the strip extends through the inlet pi of the pocket 1-1 and is forced against the base B as shown in FIG. 2. The neighborhood of the inlet pi of the pocket is opened by the force with which the end of the film strip 3 engages the base B, so that the film strip 3 upon bending can be inserted in the pocket 1-1. When this method is employed, it may not be possible to positively insert the film strip in the pocket if the strip tends to wind into a loop. Moreover, the strip of film must have a substantial firmness in order that the neighborhood of the inlet of the pocket be opened by the leading end of the strip of film.